That Would Be Enough
by scarlett.speaks
Summary: Sequel to You Think I'm Pretty. Picks up immediately where that story left off. Mathias and Adina still have some things to work out.
1. Chapter 1

I was not intending to openly sequel "You Think I'm Pretty". I figured "Complicated Situation" could exist in the same universe but apparently I wasn't done with this story. So...this is what happened between the two. And once I'm done here I'll be able to finish "Complicated Situation", I promise. And that's enough author talk, below the asterisks is what you want (hopefully).

888

"I'm still worried about you," Adina's voice cut through the blackness of the room. Her fingers curled in the quilt as she sat gingerly on the side of the bed.

"I know," he shut the apartment door behind them, leaning his shoulder into it so he could throw the deadbolt. They didn't bother with the lights. He didn't bother to patronize her by saying her worries weren't necessary. He walked over to her, stopping just short of the bed. His hands traced her jaw in the darkness.

"You can't just disappear like that," she said fiercely, her fingers curling around his wrists. Her voice cracked and she was glad he couldn't see her face. Thinking about the days in New Orleans, when she knew something was wrong but there was no response to her messages made her stomach twist in knots.

"You knew where I was," he murmured, her hands slid past his arms to graze over his abdomen.

She leaned forward to rest her forehead against his belly and sighed. "Knowing where you are and knowing you're alright are two different things, Mathias." She made a noise that was pure frustration, "Not to mention the sheer fucking size of this place."

He snorted, a few hundred square miles was a lot of ground to cover to be sure. But sometimes this place felt so small and he felt like a cornered dog. "I don't want to fight."

"Neither do I," she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against him. "You really scared me," she whispered finally. Hating that she felt like she should apologize for caring about him. The ends of his hair tickled her and she slid a hand further up his back to curl them around her fingers. His fingers tightened reflexively against her skin but he said nothing.

The silence stretched between them, tense and painful. Finally he leaned down, his lips finding her forehead. He feathered soft kisses over her nose, her eyelids, he tasted a tear, his knuckles traced down the column of her neck and when his lips found hers they were scorching. Adina moaned low in her throat and her fingers curled in his shirt. He was remembering another time in this bed. When he'd been the one to desperately cling to her in the dark. It was interesting to him that they were rarely vulnerable like this to each other in daylight.

"Please," she murmured when he lifted his head to pull the shirt off. She dipped her head and her lips found his abdomen. She wasn't even sure what she was asking for. Her knees pricked in her jeans, scraped and still bloody from the epic fucking that they had done on the mountainside. She felt dusty and raw and she was so, so tired, but also she wanted to be naked with him in the bed and get back to that easy, safe space they shared that fortified her against the darkness.

His fingers slid over her shoulders, skimming her breasts and then her sides, taking the hem of the sweatshirt and she let him draw it over her head. She rose from the bed, her own hands going to the tank top she wore underneath, it followed the sweatshirt and she flung it somewhere over his shoulder. His hands played over her breasts, thumbs hooking under the band of her bra. Adina's lips closed over the pulse at his throat and he groaned low as he jerked the bra straps over her shoulders. Mathias's fingers tangled in the hair at the base of her neck and he pulled her head back from his skin. Her eyes glittered in the darkness. "Please, what?"

Adina's fingers were working his belt and jeans closures. She bit her lip and arched her neck, perhaps trying to kiss him again. His fingers tightened in her hair and she whimpered. This was different than on the mountain. His desire was no longer desperate and punishing. She wasn't sure what it was now. The intensity still made her skin tingle. She gasped when he nipped her neck with his teeth. Her body jerked against him and she squirmed as his lips blazed a trail down her neck. Her fingers spasmed against her jeans as she struggled to undo them and think at the same time.

His own fingers were making short work of his jeans and his feet were kicking out of his boots. She toed out of the Chucks and jerked the denim over her hips. She was aware of her ragged breathing, the sound of his clothes sliding away from his skin in the dark. Adina was aware of him sitting on the bed and she caught his fingers as he curled them around her hips. "I need you," she said against his forehead, her lips resting there.

His lips found her breast and he bit the underside gently. She groaned, her head falling back, her fingers holding his head against her. Mathias guided her to stand more firmly against the edge of the bed. He was kneeling on the bed, his lips traveling from her breast to her collarbones. Adina pressed her breasts against him and her fingers tangled in his hair and she curled her arms around him. "I'm here," he murmured against her skin, his hand drifting down her side, fingers tickling her hip as he found her knee, urging her silently to climb onto the bed.

Adina complied, fingers digging into his shoulders as she climbed onto the mattress. The quilt pressed into her abraded knees and she winced, but the feel of his fingers on her skin distracted her. His hand slid between her thighs and she sighed, swaying against him. Her lips found his and she kissed him, her desperation making the kiss sharp, more intense.

"Here?" His lips blazed a path along her jaw as his fingers played against her. She was warm, wet, almost ready for him. She bit back a moan and her nails dug briefly into his back. He held back a grin. "Adina?"

"That's not fair," she said, breathless, her hips pressing herself more firmly into his hand.

"No?" His other hand played with her nipple. His lips closed over her pulse and her hips jerked again. His erection throbbed. "Tell me, sweet girl," he said, low, coaxing.

"I need you," she said again, more firmly. She wasn't just talking about right now, she knew that, the feel of his fingers, of his lips, the press of his arousal against her thigh, it was distracting. She _needed_ him. It was one of the things she realized in New Orleans. Telling him she loved him, flinging the words like an accusation on a mountain top, it wasn't enough. Even though she knew he loved her. She pressed a hand into his chest. "Mathias."

He lifted his head, he could make out more than just the glitter of her eyes in the dark. He could see the wet curve of her lip, her hair in a cloud around her shoulders. He knew what she was really saying. He felt it in her desperate kisses. His hand left her core and he found her fingers, lifting her hand to his lips to graze the palm. "I'm right here," he said softly, guiding her hand to his erection. Her fingers curled around him and he rocked gently into her.

Adina's eyes found his in the darkness. He sat back on his haunches, fingers going to her hips, urging her. She bit her lip as she rose over him, wanting to ask him for more but feeling as though she were asking too much. Wasn't he the one who waited for her all that time? The one who calmly supported her until she was strong enough to say the words? Was it so terrible to trust him, to allow him the time he needed to cross this last bridge? She guided him to her core, letting out a sharp sound as she slid onto him. The quilt dug harder into her knees but she clenched her jaw, rotating her hips to accommodate him fully.

"Here," he said, fingers molding her ass, urging her into him. She moved with him and gasped, the feel of him this way was sharper, somehow. She rocked into his thrusts, her fingers digging into his shoulder. She reached between their bodies, fingers finding the places she needed to create her own pleasure. Mathias kissed her hard, swallowing her sounds of pleasure.

She could feel a light sheen of sweat on her skin. She was close to her own climax, she could feel it. She pressed herself against him, her hand between their two bodies, fingers sliding. His fingers clutched her, helping her to ride him. She bit back a cry and then threw herself forward, cheek falling to his shoulder as the orgasm took her. He slid his hands up her back, holding her upright as she came, continuing his thrusting. Adina cried out in earnest, turning her head to press her forehead into his neck. Her lips pressed to his collarbone and her teeth bit gently as she shook with it. He thrust harder, his rhythm going erratic. "Now," she said, her lips finding his ear, her teeth tugging gently on the lobe. "I need this."

He fell forward onto the quilt. Adina felt the fabric against her back and closed her eyes against the feel of him inside her. Her knees stung with the cool air and she let her thighs fall wide as he thrust into her. Mathias's teeth scraped her neck and he came with a long, low moan. She tightened her arms around him as he collapsed on top of her.

In the quiet she felt him relaxing, the tension in his back leaving him slowly. She loved this feeling, this quiet. She wondered how long this would be enough. How long before she needed more?


	2. Chapter 2

There was a dull ache in her knees. Dull, but still sharp. She tried to stretch and her body rebelled. Adina made a quick, pained sound, then stopped. The light that was filtering into the room from the windows was muted. It had to be early morning. She reached across the bed, but it was empty. That wasn't right, she furrowed her brow, shifting onto her back. Her knees throbbed.

"Hey," he sat down on the edge of the bed, "we should do something about those."

"What?" She tried to sit up, but then fell back against the pillows. "What _time_ is it?"

"About five thirty," he settled a hand on her bare calf, thumb just barely brushing her knee. "I should have done something about these last night, I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," she said, her whole body was sore. Not, like, 'I just had a marathon sex session with my boyfriend and we forgot to hydrate' sore, but more, 'I had a marathon sex session with my boyfriend and not one bit of it was gentle and i'm over thirty' sore. Also she forgot to hydrate. "Well," she said, quirking a brow, "not entirely, anyway."

He laughed, "I'll take care of these if you take care of my back."

"Your… wait, what?" She sat up a little quicker than she meant to and groaned. "Fuck, I'm out of shape."

Mathias chuckled and turned away from her slightly so she could see the deep, ragged furrows in his back. "I can't really reach."

"Jesus, did I do that?" she reached out to brush his hair away and look at the mess. There were lighter scrapes too. Still, obviously fingernails, but not bloodied. She had a vague recollection of falling asleep on the bed, of trying to get him to talk about Gail. There was another fight. She'd called him-well it didn't much matter what she called him, he'd called her things too. She'd started cleaning his apartment because she had to do _something_ with that anger. And then somehow they were fucking.

"That was definitely you," he said, shifting back, letting his hair fall again. He took one of her hands, "Adina-"

"Don't you dare apologize," she said, lifting her chin. She started to pull her hand back, but he stopped her, turning it over so that he could scrutinize her palm. "I'm serious, Mathias, don't you _dare_."

"I wasn't going to apologize," he said, tracing a line in her palm with his finger. "Well," he shook his head, "we were pretty hard on each other."

"We were," she agreed. "Are you ready to talk to me?"

He laughed shortly and dropped her hand, getting up from the bed to go back into the kitchen. Adina sighed, going to rest her elbows on her knees and then remembering, wincing at the sting as she touched one. He wouldn't talk to her, but he'd take his emotion out on her body if she let him. It was something, she thought. Something.

Mathias sat back down on the bed, a tube of ointment, some q-tips, and a stack of bandages in his hand. "Turn on the light, will you?"

She rolled her eyes, reaching over to the bedside table to flick on the light switch. The movement made her aware of a few dozen aches in as many places. She needed a soak in the tub back at her house. "Will there be a funeral?" She asked, because she needed to say something.

He shook his head, his attention on the tube of Neosporin as he squeezed some onto the cotton swab. "She wouldn't have wanted that kind of fuss. I can take you to where she's buried if you want."

"She's already buried?" Adina was surprised, though maybe she shouldn't have been. It was the idea that Gail was already in the ground with nothing to mark the burial. It'd been less than four days. But then, was also weirded out when people had funerals a week after someone died. She shook her head, feeling adrift in a sea of misunderstanding.

"Yeah," his eyes flicked to hers and for a moment she saw pain there. "This is going to sting."

"I know," she winced anyway. He was trying to be gentle, but her knees were just too abraded. In places the skin was rubbed completely raw. He touched the cotton swab to her knee and she gasped, hands jerking on the quilt. His other hand found hers and she took it, though she felt a little silly. Her fingers clenched around his. "It is highly unfair that this hurts."

"Yeah," he said, though she caught the note of humor in his voice.

"Ass," Adina shot back, toes curling into the quilt in spasms as he dabbed at her knee. "Is Useless really okay?" The muscles in her leg tensed as he blew on his work. The cool air made her shiver.

"He'll be okay," he ripped open one of the bandages with his teeth, gently disentangling his hand from hers. Adina told herself not to be ridiculous, that wasn't a sign of anything but that he needed two hands to unpeel the bandage. "He can leave the vet's office in a few days."

"Wow, that's really soon," she was surprised, though she supposed she shouldn't be.

"Yeah," he made a face, crumpled the bandage wrapper and tossed it at the wastebasket. "Listen, he really has a thing about men… I don't know why."

"I remember," she said carefully. Mathias's face was carefully neutral.

"Would you be willing to… I mean, I get it if it's too much-"

"Of course I'll take him," she said, she took his hand, "hey." His face stayed implaccable and she released his fingers to cup his face in her hands, " _Hey_."

Mathias blinked slowly, meeting her gaze.

"We talked about this, that's our dog." She didn't point out that they'd talked about it after screaming at each other on a mountainside. Details weren't important. Right now she was more worried about his distance.

"Yeah," he shook himself and leaned down, thumb grazing her bandaged knee before his lips pressed against it-not enough to hurt but enough that she could feel his warmth. His hair tickled her leg and she ran her fingers through it. He said something against her skin and she sat back, head dipping to catch his eye. She was disappointed when he went back to bandaging her other knee.

"Where are you?" she asked softly, not really expecting an answer.

"Gail didn't have anybody," he said finally. "She never married, her parents are dead. Everybody around here was scared of her, she just wanted to be left alone."

Adina forced herself not to say anything. He had a hand on her thigh to hold her knee steady and she touched it. Her thumb grazing his knuckles. His skin was warm.

"I used to look in on her once a week or so, just, you know, to check. One day she got mad and threw her ashtray at me. She said it was creeping her out how i kept checking to make sure she wasn't dead."

Her bark of laughter was unexpected and she clapped a hand over her mouth, "Oh god, I'm sorry."

"That was her," he said, a small smile curving his lips. "Pain in the ass above all else."

"Sounds familiar," she said, lip curling.

"Yeah," he laughed a little, starting to work on her other knee.

"What are we going to do about your back?" She asked after a moment, because he didn't seem to want to say anything further. "It seems like a waste of BandAids."

"I have some spray stuff that'll work, it's a pain in the ass, but it's better than trying to bandage it." He reached for the second bandage and tossed the cotton swab in the litter basket. "I need to be at work in a few hours."

"Do you want me to go?" She asked, feeling awkward and confused and still incredibly tired.

"No," he looked surprised and she was relieved. "No," he stopped and look at her, really looked at her. "It won't always be like this."

"Like…"

"This," he gestured between the two of them. Adina said nothing, just waited. "I'll try harder," he said finally.

She smiled, taking one of his hands and turning it over to stare into the palm, as he'd done with her. "I don't expect you to be anything more than you are," she traced one of the lines in his palm, then fitted her hand to his, fingers flexing against his own. "I see you keeping things close and I get it, I really do. But you don't _have_ to take all that on your own."

"I know," his eyes were unfathomable. There was nothing else she could say. She'd already begged him to talk to her.

She lifted his hand and kissed the knuckles, "Bring me whatever it is you want me to use on your back." She could imagine what Trish would say about this. But she wasn't going to push the issue any more than she already had. Everyone grieves in their own way, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

It was something of a habit that Adina used the drive back from Mathias's apartment to call Trish. That her fingers had pressed the call button on her car's dash, then immediately pressed the end button made her feel a bit guilty. She knew Trish would want to hear about what happened, she had texted her already to let her know she arrived and was safe… she just wasn't ready to talk to her friend. She didn't know what to say to her, really.

She changed lanes and her fingers slipped on the steering wheel, engaging the voice activation for the bluetooth software. Adina rolled her eyes, then, on a whim, said "Call Renata," clearly enough for the bluetooth to pick it up and start dialing. She was surprised that Trisha's mother picked up the phone. At nine on a weekday morning, Renata like as not was in court.

"Hey baby, what's wrong?" Renata's voice was smooth and warm as always. Adina felt such a rush of relief that she nearly wept. She didn't speak at first, couldn't speak, maybe, because she was so emotionally spent that just driving was a chore. "Trish said you made it back to Durant okay," Renata said, filling the space without needing to be asked. "I guess you found your man?"

Adina tried to speak again and said a word that she hadn't said in a long time.

"Are you driving? Why don't you pull over so you can talk to me?" She listened to her because she was going to do it anyway. There was nobody on the road. Her car kicked up a cloud of red dust. She sighed and reached over to the passenger seat for one of the sodas she'd lifted from Mathais's fridge before she left. "Men are funny," Renata said evenly, "aren't they?"

"He's been acting like an angry rooster," Adina said in a burst. Feeling suddenly as though she should apologize for being disloyal. "He's either making noises so I know he's fine and doesn't need help, or he's screwing me to assert dominance. Or something, I don't know about that last bit, I was trying to fit my analogy."

Renata laughed, "Well, a little angry sex never hurt anybody, I don't think, as long as you're both into it."

"Renata!" She wasn't particularly shocked, but she felt like she should pretend to be. What with this being her best friend's mother after all.

"How do you think Sol and I solve half our arguments, cher? It's the only way we shut each other up." Renata's voice softened, "What's really bothering you?"

"He's… so different. I mean, he loved Gail and I get everybody grieves differently and I'm not trying to begrudge him anything but- I don't know what to do." She sighed, "I don't know how to help him."

"Did he say he wanted your help?" If Adina knew Renata, the older woman was curled up on an ugly, overstuffed loveseat she kept in her home office. It was a relic of the 80's, looking like it was straight from the set of Miami Vice, and the velvet knap was worn threadbare at the arms. It was the one piece she absolutely refused to get rid of. Sol said it was because it was the first piece of furniture she spent more than ten dollars on and she absolutely refused to let it go until it fell to pieces to justify the cost. Renata said she wasn't going to get rid of it because no other piece of furniture curved around her ass the same way.

"That's harsh," Adina said, because it _was_. "Besides, do they _ever_ say they want help?"

"Sure they do," Renata made a sound in her throat that probably meant she was making herself comfortable. "Maybe not in so many words, but they'll tell you. The trick is to believe them."

"Well if I'm supposed to be believing him, he's totally fine, he doesn't need me, and I should fuck right off unless I want to put my mouth to work."

"Well okay, so maybe he needs to focus on physical for a while," she paused, "do you have any reason to think he doesn't really want you in his life?"

"Oh no," Adina didn't even hesitate. "Not at all. It's just this… I don't know." She outlined for Renata briefly what had happened, and a little bit about what had been happening before she left for New Orleans. When she was finished Renata let out a low whistle.

"That's a lot to unpack."

"Yeah," Adina bit her lip, "I don't get it. I don't get any of it. And he shouldn't _have_ to explain to to me, you know? Like, he deserves to have a relationship where he doesn't have to spend hours explaining the politics and history and social cues and I'm trying so hard to just take him as he is but I _know_ he's not okay."

"I'm sure you're right." She didn't say anything for a long moment, "What do you want me to say, baby?"

"Tell me what to _do_ ," desperation making her voice shake.

"Go home, take a shower," Renata said automatically. "Make yourself some food and take a longass nap."

"Then what," she said miserably.

"Then...wait and see." Adina wondered if Renata had ever been in a situation like this. "He'll either come around or he won't. I know that's not what you want to hear, sweet, but this is a pretty hard mess you're in."

"Yeah," she sighed, feeling a little like a spoiled kid.

"What do _you_ want out of this?" Renata asked, "What are you trying to communicate to him by being all…" Adina almost laughed, she could practically hear Renata acting out what she was saying.

"He's the only thing I care about," she said softly, "not like, I don't care about anything else, but like, I don't care what anybody else thinks. I'm here for him. That's it."

"You're his advocate?" Renata asked.

"Yes, I'm only interested in what's best for him." She realized it was true.

"What if what's best for him is to be alone for a while?" Renata said. Adina flinched, because she knew it was an obvious question but also because it was a question she didn't want to have to answer.

"Then… I guess I'll have to pick up a new hobby," she said finally. Renata laughed and it was a husky, sultry sound.

"Finding a new hobby wouldn't be the worst thing," she said. "Maye it'll give you the chance to make Sol that hat he's been after."

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"So you just _left_?" Cady said, incredulity making her tone sharper than it normally would have been. She grimaced and hid her mouth behind her latte. Adina shot her a look and went back to the cubbies of yarn in the yarn shop.

"He had to go to work. We'd said everything we _could_ say, and he made it pretty clear he didn't want to talk about it anymore."

"Well I know, but… I don't know. I don't think I would have been able to just leave like that." She poked at a ball of yarn that was variegated shades of neon. "What would you even _make_ with this?"

"Socks," Adina reached out to finger one of the yarn strands, "see how thin it is?"

"Those would be some very brightly colored socks," Cady sipped from her latte again. "That would seriously drive me crazy."

"The not talking?" Adina shrugged, "Because clearly I'm handling it so well." She had been to the yarn store often enough to know Angie, the owner, kept a step stool between the shelves. She stepped around Cady to grab it and open it. There was some stuff on the higher shelf she wanted to look at and she was about two feet to short to grab it without assistance. She sighed, looking down at her friend, "It's driving me batshit. But what can I do? If I push him any harder it'll drive him off." She lifted down one of the skeins of bright blue alpaca. It would do for Sol's hat, she knew. She was considering getting bells for it, too. "I think the best thing I can do is just wait it out. He'll talk when he's ready." She told herself it was the right decision even though she still wasn't sure.

He'd already shown her it was right, hadn't he? He hadn't had to tell her that little bit about Gail when he bandaged her knees. And Renata was right about other things, too, the angry sex had been good. Scary good. But it wasn't like she was going to pick a fight with him in hopes he'd either tell her something or she'd get laid. That would just be nuts.

"He deserves to grieve in his own way," she said finally. "I don't like it, but he let me come to terms with my shit on my own time, there's no real reason why I can't do the same for him."

"Good luck with that," Cady muttered, checking her phone absently. "My dad's got something he wants me to check, do you mind if I run upstairs?"

"No, go ahead," Adina had roughly four skeins of the blue yarn in her hand and she returned the step stool to the alcove. She'd talk to Angie for a bit to figure out the best embellishments for the hat.

"Thanks, friend," Cady winked at her and made her way out of the shop, tossing her empty latte cup in the trash can on her way.

888

He'd never been a boy scout, he didn't have time for that shit, but he figured he deserved some kind of merit badge for driving into work when every muscle in his body wanted him to drive out to the cliff again. He'd popped a few Tylenol with his coffee, but his back was still sore. He guessed he wasn't surprised. Adina hadn't been kidding, he was getting too old for that kind of sex too.

Not that he hadn't been into it.

Matthias sighed. Then punched a few numbers into his cell. Then immediately disconnected the call before it could send. He didn't even know what he could say to her really. She had wanted him to talk, to tell her about his feelings, but he couldn't even begin to explain. He was sad, sure, pissed off, righteously infuriated, and completely cynical. Permeating all of that was a sense of hopelessness that robbed him of the ability to so much as crack a joke about the absolute waste of time it all was.

He turned off on a road he hadn't been down in a while. Not for a few weeks, anyway. He'd be late, but he was the boss, he was allowed. It was time to visit Hector's wall.


	4. Chapter 4

The humidity in the bathroom was frizzing her hair. She had it piled into a loose knot on top of her head, but tendrils fell and she could feel it sticking to her neck. Adina slipped a little further under the water, letting it lap almost to her collarbones. It was hard to unwind, difficult to let her thoughts settle, but she was trying. She was just on the edge of dozing when her phone buzzed next to her ear.

Adina sighed, reaching up to angle the screen so she could see. _Tovia_ , _great_ , she answered the call and put it on speaker, settling back against the bath pillow. "Hello _tante_ ," she said, shifting in the tub and wondering if she should have just let the call go to voicemail. Her day hadn't been especially taxing, just writing, lunch with Cady, but she was noticing that she had to be mindful of times like this, when she was alone. So that she could appreciate being fully present and not obsess over Mathias. It had been a little over a week.

They still called, texted, saw each other, but it was different. There was distance. She was trying not to push him but it was hard to see the tightness around his eyes and know she couldn't fix it. She realized Tovia had asked a question and straightened a little in the tub, sloshing the water. "I'm sorry, _tante_ , what did you say?"

" _Really, Adina,"_ the woman said, sounding a little hurt, a little annoyed. She switched to yiddish when she was really upset. Adina was hoping to avoid that. " _I asked if you've heard anything regarding your book."_

"Oh," she sat back in the tub again, reaching for her glass of ice water. "Jane loves the pages, she's still shopping it around, once we've found a publisher then it'll go through the editing process for real."

" _I'm very proud of you, bubbeleh, your mama would be so happy that you are no longer writing the smut, you know."_

She knew. Tovia made a point to say so at least once a week. She heard the unmistakable sound of a door opening, she sat up in the tub for a moment, listening hard. Tovia was still talking but she ignored it, she heard keys jangling and relaxed, he hadn't said he was coming over but she was glad. Warmth pooled in her belly and she slid back against the bath pillow. "You should have said something sooner, _tante_ ," Adina said, picking up the thread of the conversation around her writing erotica and fighting not to laugh. "If I'd known you felt so strongly I would have considered switching genres ages ago."

She was watching the doorway so her eyes caught his almost immediately. He leaned against the door jamb, silent amusement curling his lips as her aunt spluttered into the phone. Adina's choice to write "smutty stories" as Tovia called them, had been good to her. The fact that she lived more frugally than she needed to so she could pay for Tovia's place at a Jewish Assisted Living Facility in San Francisco was something he knew because they'd discussed it, but not something she would ever throw in the woman's face. She shifted in the tub to sip from the water glass again and lifted her hand to him, beckoning.

He went to her, leaning down to brush his lips over her forehead before sitting on the edge of the garden tub. Adina rested her arm on the tub's edge, fingers curling in the fabric of his shirt. She held his gaze as his hand skimmed the surface of the water, coming to rest on her knee. She arched an eyebrow as he took the sponge from its resting place and dipped it into the water, catching suds as he did so. Tovia was still speaking and Adina made herself answer, something noncommittal but pertinent enough to sound as though she were listening closely.

Mathias skimmed the sponge down the line of her shin, she lifted her leg out of the water, her eyes teasing the tiniest bit. He raised an eyebrow at the challenge and dipped the sponge again. This time shifting so he could reach more of her beneath the surface. Adina bit her lip, making a small, pained sound. Tovia broke off abruptly. " _Am I boring you, child?"_

"No, _tante_ ," she said, glaring at him in mock reproach. "But I'm not feeling very well. Could I call you tomorrow?"

" _If you must,"_ Tovia said, " _it's not that man is it?"_

"What is?" Adina asked, suddenly a little confused. Tovia could be eerily perceptive sometimes, but if she'd figured out that Adina was staring down her lover while her aunt chatted about, about well she wasn't actually sure what Tovia had been chatting about because she'd stopped listening.

" _Whatever has you out of sorts. Is it that man?"_

"Oh," She rolled her eyes, covering her face with a hand, "no, _tante_."

" _He's still treating you well?"_ the older woman's voice was just this side of shrill. Adina winced, but smiled in spite of herself as she reached for the phone.

"Yes, _tante_."

" _Good, you should be happy,"_ she harrumphed before clicking off. Adina's head snapped back a little, surprised. _That_ wasn't like Tovia at all. She stared down at her phone for a moment, mystified.

He touched her nose and she jumped, placing the phone back on the ledge and turning her attention back to him. She nipped at his finger playfully, and then sat back against the bath pillow. "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight."

"I can see I interrupted," he said, leaning over the tub again to kiss her fully on the mouth. When he lifted his head he smiled, "Should I go?"

She made a negating sound in her throat and her fingers brushed his jaw, "No, stay." She gestured with her foot to the taps, "You should join me."

"Yeah?" his fingers curled one of the tendrils that had fallen loose from her bun.

"Yeah," Adina sat up, the difference in temperature from the hot bath water making her nipples stand to attention. Her mouth was only inches from his this way. And her fingers could play with the buttons of the uniform shirt. "Stay," his lips hovered over hers for a brief moment, long enough for her to murmur "please."

Then he was rising. She arched her neck, maybe a little confused for a moment, but she smiled when his fingers went to the shirt. He started the process of undressing, eyes holding hers, intent. By the time he'd removed the shirt she settled back against the bath pillow, one hand curled absently over her breast, the other lower, hidden in the tub from his view.

She didn't know why it was so attractive watching him undress. Maybe it was the quick, economical movements of his fingers on the shirt buttons. More likely it was the set of his mouth, serious, challenging, but still mildly amused. His eyes burned as they always did and it took everything in her not to rise from the tub to help him. But she didn't want this to be a sexual encounter, she realized.

Oh, she wanted to have sex with him, of course she did. But something in the set of his shoulders told her that wasn't what he needed. The shirt and his undershirt were in a heap on the floor and he was working on his belt and the jeans now. She licked her dry lips, remembered the ice water, and reached for it, nearly tipping over the glass into the tub. Cold condensation dripped from the glass to her chest and she jumped, but her eyes didn't leave his. When she finished with the water she offered it to him. He took a sip of his own before putting it on the counter behind him.

By the time he got to his boots she was nearly undone. Adina's fingers were curled tightly around her knees as she waited for him. When he kicked the last boot under the sink she sighed with relief. Lifting one hand she held it out to him, widening her legs under the water in invitation for him to sit. Mathias did so, making a noise at the heat of the water as he climbed into the tub with her.

Adina sat back against the tub wall, fingers curling over his shoulders. His back was almost completely healed, but she could still see remnants of the scratches she'd left. She was proud that she didn't trace them, though she wanted to. He slid in the tub, moving so that he was leaning back, her breasts cushioning his shoulders. His head fell back against her shoulder and she almost asked him if he wanted a tie for his hair, then decided against it because that would involve moving. Instead she picked up the sponge, beginning the work of soothing his tense muscles in the water.

She realized, after a time, that they hadn't spoken in a while. She knew he was still awake, knew he was acutely aware of what her fingers were doing, but he didn't speak. She chose not to either, knowing that if she spoke she'd pepper him with questions he wouldn't want to answer. She concentrated instead on easing the tension. Starting with his neck and shoulders. Paying particular attention to that muscle there, then this knot here. Slowly, slowly things unknit. Her fingers worked through what she could reach, for as long as she could, until her arms were too tired to do much more than wrap around him.

In the end, they stayed that way for a long time, in that warmth, with her fingers trailing idly through his hair, her other hand finding his, toying with the ring he wore before twining his fingers with hers. As the water began to cool, her lips touched his forehead, a question there that she didn't want to voice because it would ruin the peace of the moment. That was when she realized he was asleep.

888

There was a truck in her backyard.

Adina set the bag of coffee beans on the counter and stepped back from the window. She cocked her head, from another angle it was still a truck. She arched an eyebrow. "Babe?" She felt a little bad, she'd wanted to let him pretend to sleep a little longer, but it was weird to discover a jewel-green classic truck in your backyard when yesterday there had just been, like, a deck there. And okay some overgrown lawn. But she didn't really use the back yard. "Can you come here for a second?"

She heard movement in the bedroom and her hands settled on her hips. She guessed it would have fit through the driveway and the gate just fine, it was a big truck, but it wasn't as wide as her Jeep. She wondered if he'd come through the back door instead of the front last night.

"Hey," his lips brushed her hairline, right at the back of her neck. Her eyebrow quirked higher.

"Mathias," she said, her tone slow and careful. "Is there a truck in my backyard?" She was staring right at it, his chin rested on her shoulder, so, ostensibly so was he. She figured that was good, if she was hallucinating it was better to find out sooner rather than later.

"There is," he said evenly.

Her head fell back and he nibbled the sensitive skin of her neck. "Why," she said, staring up at the ceiling, "is there a truck in my backyard?"

"It won't start," he said, between small bites. His hands played with the hem of her tank top, his thumbs edging below the hem of her silk shorts. "I needed a place to work on it."

"How did you get it back there if it won't start?" She cocked her head, thinking there was no way a tow truck would have fit in the space between the house and the neighbor's hedge. The movement cut off his access to that side of her neck. He laughed shortly, turning her body around to face him.

"I need to ask you not to ask any questions about this, Adina," he said, she was shocked by how serious his face was. "This was the best place I could think of, you've got a privacy fence and the neighborhood is pretty-"

"Boring-"

" _Quiet,"_ he said pointedly. "No more than two days. I promise."

"The parking lot at your place is pretty quiet too," she pointed out.

"But not as private," he dipped his head, angling to look her more fully in the eye. "Please?"

She sighed, "You know you don't even have to ask." His smile lit his whole face and something tugged in the vicinity of her belly. She traced his jaw, "Is it really that easy to make you this happy?"

His lips were warm against hers, his fingers tightening her her hips. Adina groaned, wrapping an arm around his neck, the other playing with the band of his boxer briefs. She wasn't expecting it when he lifted her, and she yelped against his lips, but then she was on the counter and he was stepping between her legs. She laughed because he tickled her side before his fingers skimmed beneath the tank top, she lifted her arms obligingly and then his lips were on her breast. She twined the fingers of one hand in his hair, holding him to her, her other hand reaching for his wrist, urging his fingers to her shorts.

Mathias laughed against her skin, his fingers sliding beneath the loose hem of the shorts, finding the sensitive flesh between her legs. She moaned, hips canting forward on the counter, legs parting wider. His thumb brushed her and she gasped, he lifted his head and she rolled her eyes, leaning her head against the cabinet. "I was going to make coffee," she said, a little breathless.

"I don't need coffee," he shot back, urging her leg around him, "I'm plenty awake."

"I see that," she said, her fingers sliding over his arms to curl around his shoulders. "But I might want coffee."

Mathias lifted his head, stopping what he was doing to look her in the eye. Adina fought the urge to pout. "You'd rather have coffee?"

"I didn't say that," she said, tightening her legs around his waist, "Just, you know," she waved a hand, "I was gonna make some. You distracted me."

"Oh, I see," he was laughing at her and she didn't care because his fingers were busy, moving the wide leg of the shorts out of the way. "My mistake."

"You should definitely pay closer attention- _ohhh_ ," he was inside her and she threw herself forward against his body. Her arm flailed and the bag of beans scattered, spraying the floor and the counter. She felt his hands tight on her hips, holding her against him and her arms tightened around his shoulders. "Fuck," she said, her lips close to his ear, "oh fuck."

"Like this?" he said, doing something with his hips that made her cry out. He did it again and she sobbed a breath, forehead pressing into his neck.

"Just like that," she said, rolling her hips to meet him. "Don't stop."

"No?" His lips closed over the pulse at her throat and she groaned. Adina fought the urge to tell him to shut up and focus.

"No," she said, turning her head so that her lips could find his. The kiss was long and deep, scorching. When it broke, his hands found her hips again, fingers curling around her ass. She moaned against his neck, tightening her muscles, trying to urge herself toward her orgasm. His fingers found the place where they were joined, his thumb stroked her clit. She whimpered.

"So impatient," he said against her neck. But he did quicken his pace. She reached between their bodies, cupping him. He jerked against her, pulling her away from the counter entirely. Adina yelped in surprise, but he was easing down to his knees. She held onto him feeling the smooth tile beneath her shins. One of his hands slid from her hips to hold onto the counter above her head. His thrusts were deeper from this angle.

Adina cried out, resting her head against the cabinet as his lips ravaged her neck. "Fuck," she groaned again, because she couldn't think of anything more coherent. He chuckled against her neck and she made a negating sound in her throat. "Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked, her lips finding his again.

He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers, "Oh yeah." She reached up to grasp his forearm, urging his hand down from the counter. She pressed his palm to her breast and he took the invitation, molding it. His other hand hadn't stopped it's work. His thumb was insistent on her over sensitized clit. Adina shuddered over him. "You close?"

She tossed her head in an approximation of a nod. "Come with me," she said, and the way his eyes darkened nearly put her over the edge right then. "Please."

"You know you don't even have to ask," he said, teasing. She was distantly aware of the smell of the beans, they mixed with the smell of him and she'd never thought of coffee as sexy before, but there was a first time for everything. His fingers were more insistent against her and she felt her orgasm building. She moaned, her fingers tangling in his hair as she urged him to meet her.

She never did make the coffee.


End file.
